{"id":925,"date":"2015-05-08T01:01:18","date_gmt":"2015-05-08T01:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/library\/?p=925"},"modified":"2017-03-21T07:06:43","modified_gmt":"2017-03-21T07:06:43","slug":"how-much-detergent-should-i-use-in-a-commercial-washing-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/library\/how-much-detergent-should-i-use-in-a-commercial-washing-machine\/","title":{"rendered":"How Much Detergent Should I Use in a Commercial Washing Machine?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-108\" src=\"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/166416468-300x208.jpg\" alt=\"166416468\" width=\"300\" height=\"208\" srcset=\"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/166416468-300x208.jpg 300w, https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/166416468.jpg 497w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>I recently got asked a very difficult question by a customer of Worldwide Janitor. It didn&#8217;t sound difficult at first, but as I sat down to compute the results he wanted based on our product instruction labels, I realized that I was going to have some work to do!<br \/>\nAll he wanted to know, was &#8220;how many pounds of laundry the following products would clean in the sizes he was ordering.&#8221;<br \/>\nSounds simple right? Well it&#8217;s not \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately there are a lot of factors to consider here. Here was my response:<\/p>\n<p>I will do my best to answer this question, including some formulas and instructions from each product&#8217;s label. It is pretty complicated though as you can see, because it depends on the washer size, as well as how soiled the linens are.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Load capacity for washers tends to vary from 10 (normal) \u2013 20 (large capacity) lbs of laundry per load on average, so let&#8217;s assume this when using the following instructions.<\/p>\n<p>Also, how soiled the laundry is will make a difference as well. Today&#8217;s commercial washers also scale up very large in size (some wash 100 lbs of laundry at a time), and some are even high efficiency (requiring significantly less water and detergent).<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s also use the conversion that 1 lbs = 3.75 cups of detergent. Let&#8217;s also assume that, as you stated, these are older, non-HE washers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>**Very Important: Most of our commercial detergent instructions are for older, non-HE machines. For HE (high efficiency) machines, use about 1\/2 of the amount called for on the label.**<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/laundry-products-c-82\/htd-heavy-duty-detergent-powdered-p-302\">HTD Heavy Duty Detergent<\/a>\u00a0(powder) (08 HTD)<br \/>\n50 lbs pail = 187.5 cups of detergent = 375 normal capacity loads of laundry = 3,750 lbs of laundry<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Instructions:<\/p>\n<p>For top loading machines:<\/p>\n<p>Normal capacity: Use 1\/2 cup per load.<\/p>\n<p>Large capacity: Use 3\/4 to 1 cup per load.<\/p>\n<p>For front-loading machines: Use 1\/3 cup per load. Add detergent before adding clothes.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/laundry-products-c-82\/superior-laundry-detergent-powder-p-362\">Superior Laundry Detergent <\/a>(powder)\u00a0(15 SLD)<br \/>\n50 lbs box = 187.5 cups of detergent = 375 normal capacity loads of laundry = 3,750 lbs of laundry<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Similar instructions to HTD<\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/laundry-products-c-82\/lemon-scent-detergent-powder-p-304\">Lemon Scent Detergent<\/a> (powder) (08 LSD)<br \/>\n50 lbs pail = 187.5 cups of detergent = 375 normal capacity loads of laundry = 3,750 lbs of laundry<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Similar instructions to HTD<\/p>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li><strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/laundry-products-c-82\/chlorine-dry-bleach-powder-p-301\">Chlorine Dry Bleach<\/a> (powder) (08 CDB)<br \/>\n50 lbs pail = \u00a0800 oz. of Chlorine Dry Bleach = 4,344 lbs of laundry (medium duty)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Suggested Use:<\/p>\n<p>Light duty: 2.25 oz. (100 ppm)<\/p>\n<p>Medium duty: 3.5 oz. (150 ppm) (apx 1 cup)<\/p>\n<p>Heavy duty: 4.5 oz. (200 ppm)<\/p>\n<p>Based on 19 gallons of water in a general washing machine. (most commercial machines seem to do about 1 pound of laundry per gallon of water, so that is what I used for this measurement)<\/p>\n<ol start=\"5\">\n<li><strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/laundry-products-c-82\/oxygen-dry-bleach-powder-p-307\">Oxygen Dry Bleach<\/a> (powder) (08 ODB<\/strong>)<br \/>\n<strong>50 lbs pail = 187.5 cups of detergent = 375 normal capacity loads of laundry = 3,750 lbs of laundry<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Suggested Use:<\/p>\n<p>Front loading washer: 1\/4 cup per 8 lb. load in soft water. 1\/2 cup per 8 lb. load in hard water.<\/p>\n<p>Top loading washer: 1\/2 cup per 8 lb. load in soft water. 3\/4 cup per 8 lb. load in hard water.<\/p>\n<p><em>These directions vary based on water type as well, so I just went with the mid-range 1\/2 cup suggestion for this formula.<\/em><\/p>\n<ol start=\"6\">\n<li><strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/laundry-products-c-82\/liquid-fabric-softener-p-300\">Liquid Fabric Softener<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0(02 LFS)<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>5 gallon pail = 640 oz. = 6,400 lbs of laundry (mid-level softening and static control)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Suggested Use:<\/p>\n<p>To achieve appropriate effect follow chart below:<\/p>\n<table width=\"563\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"283\">Purpose<\/td>\n<td width=\"135\">12 lbs load<br \/>\n(average load)<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">100 lbs load<br \/>\n(institutional \/ industrial)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Super softening, excellent static control:<\/td>\n<td>1 1\/4 &#8211; 2 oz.<\/td>\n<td>10 &#8211; 16 oz.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Softening, general wash, static control:<\/td>\n<td>1 &#8211; 1 1\/4 oz.<\/td>\n<td>8 &#8211; 10 oz.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Ironing aid, reduction of harshness of starch goods:<\/td>\n<td>1\/2 oz.<\/td>\n<td>4 oz.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>7.<a href=\"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/laundry-products-c-82\/oxy-care-powder-p-1407\">Oxy Care<\/a> (08 OC)<br \/>\nCase of 12 (qty) 2.5 lbs Jars = 30 lbs \/ 480 oz. = 1,440 lbs of laundry<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Laundry Use:<\/p>\n<p>1-8 oz. \/ load 1 wash cycle Determined by soil, detergent, size of washer. (For this calculation we will use 5 oz. as an average usage for 15 lbs of laundry)<\/p>\n<p>Laundry Pre-Soak:<\/p>\n<p>2-4 oz. \/ gallon 30 min. brights &amp; darks For heavy stains or old, dingy linens.<\/p>\n<p>1 + hour for others<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I recently got asked a very difficult question by a customer of Worldwide Janitor. It didn&#8217;t sound difficult at first, but as I sat down to compute the results he wanted based on our product instruction labels, I realized that I was going to have some work to do! All he wanted to know, was &#8220;how many pounds of laundry &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/library\/how-much-detergent-should-i-use-in-a-commercial-washing-machine\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[306,15],"tags":[309,161,315,125,219,308,322],"class_list":["post-925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faqs","category-laundry","tag-chlorine-dry-bleach","tag-htd-heavy-duty-detergent","tag-lemon-scent-detergent","tag-liquid-fabric-softener","tag-oxy-care","tag-oxygen-dry-bleach","tag-superior-laundry-detergent"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=925"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1254,"href":"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925\/revisions\/1254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldwidejanitor.com\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}